Some of Europe’s most wanted fugitives are still at large despite being sentenced to years in prison for serious crimes. A new international campaign launched today is asking the public to help change that.
The campaign, coordinated on the EU Most Wanted platform, shines a spotlight on convicted criminals who have each received prison sentences of at least five years but continue to evade justice across borders.
Authorities from 11 countries are taking part: Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, and Sweden.
The fugitives featured in the campaign were convicted for offences ranging from drug trafficking, robbery, and extortion to murder. Each participating country has selected a nationally wanted offender whose case illustrates the scale and diversity of criminal threats faced across Europe.
- Belgium: a 68-year-old individual sentenced to 29 years for murder
- Czechia: a 51-year-old and a 65-year-old, sentenced to 23 and 12 years respectively for drug trafficking
- Denmark: a 25-year-old individual sentenced to 25 years for murder
- Estonia: a 53-year-old individual sentenced to 12 years for drug trafficking
- Hungary: a 33-year-old individual sentenced to 10 years for participation in a criminal organisation
- Lithuania: a 59-year-old individual sentenced to 13 years for drug trafficking
- Luxembourg: a 34-year-old individual sentenced to 12 years for racketeering and extortion
- Netherlands: a 35-year-old individual sentenced to 5 years for attempted murder, armed robbery and extortion
- Poland: a 62-year-old and a 72-year-old, both sentenced to 8 years for drug trafficking, armed robbery and participation in a criminal organisation
- Romania: a 39 -year-old individual sentenced to 9 years for drug trafficking
- Sweden: a 33-year-old individual sentenced to 14 years for murder
Fugitives often rely on anonymity to stay hidden. They move across countries, blend into everyday life, and depend on the assumption that time will make them disappear from public attention. This campaign aims to take that away.
Every profile featured represents someone already convicted by the courts, but who has yet to serve their sentence. For victims and their families, justice remains incomplete while fugitives remain at large.
The campaign encourages citizens across Europe to look closely at the profiles published on the EU Most Wanted website and report any information that may help investigators. Experience has shown that public tips can play a decisive role in locating fugitives.
Information can be shared anonymously through the platform.
The content on the EU Most Wanted website is owned and managed by the relevant national authorities via the European Network of Fugitive Active Search Teams (ENFAST), supported by Europol. The initiative strengthens cooperation between European law enforcement authorities and helps ensure that fugitives cannot simply disappear by crossing a border.